Power Struggle Flashcards
How did want leadership to take shape after his death?
- After Lenin’s death, many wanted to achieve collective leadership as it aligned with Marxist stage theory, Lenin’s position was mostly secured by his forcefulness and to stabilise Bolshevik control however 1924, the main people that pushed this idea feared Trotsky
- Lenin challenged Marxism through his leadership known as Marxism - Leninism as Lenin had the struggles of revolution and civil war which the changes included a dictatorial style by refusing to admit errors, the 1921 ban on factions, centralised control and state bureaucracy
How did the power vacuum begin?
- In May 1922, he had his first stroke leaving him incapacitated
- In December 1922, he had his second stroke which left him unable to speak and partially paralysed and one later that one left his bed ridden leaving his role in politics as limited
Who were his minders?
- Wife
- Sister
- Stalin who held personal contact with Lenin, looked after him and transmitted his wishes to party leadership
What were the Triumvirate (Troika)?
It was formed in 1922 - 23 by Zinoviev, Kamenev and Lenin to block the ambitions of Trotsky. Despite Stalin’s ignored talent and unpopularity as general sectary he was essential to alliances with the troika as well as Bukharin, Rykov, Tomsky and Radek
Why did Lenin create his testament?
The ambitions and rivalries of those around him alarmed Lenin who attempted to guide the transition to a new leadership, “from beyond the grave,” through his testament of his view on future dangers
How was the testament created?
- It was meant to be read out at party congress after his death
- Lenin dictated it over several days in late December 1922 due to his inabilities after his stroke and a post script was added in January 1923
What was in the testament?
- It was an critical assessment of his inner circle even though they may succeed him
- Lenin didn’t name anyone his successor as he hoped for collective leadership to combine the best features of members of his inner circle but this was also not made clear
- Lenin was especially harsh towards Stalin after he claimed Georgia was won by a popular uprising not brute force and insulted Lenin’s wife after she prevented Stalin from visiting Lenin
- The testament never became public information as Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev persuaded against its release containing its potentially damaging impacts on politics
- After the development of the power struggle, it was used as a dangerous secret
What was Stalin’s character like?
- Although his political achievements as a part of the triumvirate and the central committee were underrated, he was known as violent and an expert in dealing with the details of bureaucratic organisation as a hard worker
- His lack of recognition came from his intellectual inferiority as a son of a cobbler with a basic education
- He was aware of expanding party machinery and placed loyal supporters in key positions
- Kaganovich called him a soft individual as allies like Bukharin called him Koba as he was reasonable and reliable
- Whilst Stalin was jealous of others, he was ale to keep long - term aims hidden and wait for revenge
What are the strengths of Stalin?
- General secretary in April 1922 which increased his influence over the loyalties of his subordinates
- Understood Marxism - Leninism
- Good at concealing his intentions due to him being underrated
- He knew and understood what Lenin wanted as he was close to him during his illness
- His fear of Trotsky allowed him to make the Triumvirate
What are the weaknesses of Stalin?
- Negative public image as he was seen as crude and violent accentuated by Lenin’s criticisms of his actions
- He only played a minor role in the revolution as he was overshadowed by those who had a greater role or who had more popularity like Bukharin
- Even through, the testament wasn’t released, his colleagues knew Lenin had turned against him. Up until 1926, many Bolsheviks wanted to also hide the testament however Stalin was persistent so Lenin’s sister Mariya was enlisted to defend Stalin against criticisms from his opponents in the Politburo
What was Trotsky’s character?
- By 1924, Trotsky had enough power to restrict the influence of other opponent leaving him with admirers such as Viktor Serge and Karl Radek who backed his revolutionary ideology and party democracy
- In 1924 - 25, his power weakened as Stalin grew in power however he did gain Kamenev and Zinoviev as allies to form the left opposition
- Unwilling to get involved in the details of party administration
- Trotsky was extremely arrogant about his abilities and was dismissive of those with lesser abilities such as Stalin
- He was prone to sudden bouts of illness and inaction at a time of crisis
What are the strengths of Trotsky?
- He was an organiser and pushed action giving him power and prestige from his actions in the civil war and revolution
- He was also an exceptional ideologist and theoretician allowing him to make excellent speeches
- Many feared Trotsky as he could militarily seize power after Lenin’s death
What are the weaknesses of Trotsky?
- Old Bolsheviks were suspicious of him as he was a late convert as a previous Menshevik
- Colleagues disliked him as he badly underrated Stalin
- Not attempt to build a support base within the party
- Inconsistent aims through his indecisiveness
- Opportunist as he only allied with Kamenev and Zinoviev as Stalin rose to power
- He made serious errors of judgement after attacking the party bureaucracy in 1924 when it needed support
What is Kamenev’s character?
- He was capable and intelligent who could manage people and situations
- Despite being Trotsky’s brother in law, he opposed his political ambitions and sided with Zinoviev and acted as his partnership
- He saw himself as an important player in collective leadership rather than having ambition and ruthlessness as a leader
- He had a reputation for flip - flopping - being too ready to change sides
What were Kamenev’s strengths?
- As an old Bolshevik, he helped party policy as a politburo member and close to Lenin so in 1922, he entrusted many of his personal papers to Kamenev
- He had a strong power base in Moscow from being chairman of the soviet from 1918
- He was regarded as thoughtful and intelligent, good at smoothing out difficulties amongst colleagues with the ability to get things done
What were Kamenev’s weaknesses?
- Flip - flopping by opposing Lenin in 1917 and switching between Stalin and Trotsky
- Too close to Zinoviev who was more popular than him
- Too soft and lacked the drive to be the sole leader
- Underestimated his rivals including Stalin
What was Zinoviev’s character?
- He was intelligent and educated with European culture making him one of the party’s best speechmakers allowing him to gain roles such as chairman of the comintern
- He had a reputation for being vain, inconsistent and prone to mood swings
- Like Kamenev, he was a compromiser, without consistent philosophy and tended to buckle up under pressure
What were Zinoviev’s strengths?
- An old Bolshevik who commanded respect
- Lenin called his his closest ad most trusted assistant
- His role as party boss in Leningrad (Petrograd) gave him a strong power base, only second in importance to Moscow
What were Zinoviev’s weaknesses?
- He opposed Lenin in 1917 and this was held against him
- He underestimated his opponents including Stalin
- He and Kamenev left it too late before switching their support to Trotsky
What is Bukharin’s character?
- With Rykov and Tomsky, he formed the right wing who supported Stalin and against the Trotsky led left
- He and Stalin developed a lose working partnership known as the Duumvirate but Bukharin’s popularity aroused Stalin’s jealousy and hostility
- Bolsheviks regarded him as impressive and likeable as an intellectual and theorist increasing his popularity as the darling of the party
- He had an open and collaborative relationship with people from the left and right
- He could be naïve and lacked the capacity for intrigue making him unsuited to party infighting
What were Bukharin’s strengths?
- Had respect from Stalin, Lenin and Trotsky for his popularity
- Seen as the best theoretician in the party
- He was an expert in economics and agriculture when peasantry was a major concern in government
What were Bukharin’s weaknesses?
- His likeable personality prevented the growth of his power base
- He underestimated Stalin so his popularity made him a target for Stalin’s anger
- He made tactical mistake such as leaving it too late to make an alliance with Zinoviev and Kamenev
What is Rykov’s character?
- He was a moderate member of the party so whilst he was loyal with Lenin, he disagreed with him and the radicals and was more aligned with Tomsky and Bukharin
- As chairman of the government from 1924, he wanted to play a unifying role
What were Rykov’s strengths?
- He was an old Bolshevik who commanded respect
- Had administrative ability as he implemented war communism and supported the switch to the NEP
- He had extensive support from the sovnarkom to choose him as deputy chairman in 1923 and chairman the following year
What were Rykov’s weaknesses?
- More of a conciliator than a plotter so in the moderates, Bukharin overshadowed his ability and popularity
- He held a largely ceremonial position in the collective leadership and lacked a power base
- His policy of putting heavy taxes on vodka was socially correct but politically unwise and created opposition from sections of the party
- He argued with Lenin over revolutionary in 1917 and this was held against him
- Underrated Stalin
What was Tomsky’s personality?
- He was the son of a factory worker with long associations with trade unions which he became in charge of in 1920 making him one of the few old Bolsheviks from a working class background
- His political views were moderate
What were Tomsky’s strengths?
- He gained popularity a a working class old Bolshevik
- His role as chief spokesman for trade unions gave him a strong position within the party; he was general secretary of red international of trade unions (profintern) from 1921 and elected to the central committee and Politburo in 1922
- He was a natural ally of moderate leaders such as Rykov and Bukharin
What were Tomsky’s weaknesses?
- He had an intense hostility towards Trotsky which blinded him to the dangers of Stalin
- His power power base in trade unions made him an obvious target for Stalin’s jealousy
- His support for the NEP when used against him when the grain crisis hit the economy
How did the left view the NEP?
They saw it as a divergence from Marxist theory since it allowed private enterprise to continue
How did the right view the NEP?
They supported it as they saw it necessary for Russia’s economy
How did Stalin view the NEP?
Stalin held a left-leaning position until 1925 but supported it due to Lenin’s memory however by 1928, he was completely against it as he knew it was failing and by 1929 pushed rapid agriculture and the collectivisation of agriculture
What were Trotsky’s political views?
He wanted a permanent revolution through maximum support for the comintern to form revolutions for socialist societies everywhere after the failures of Germany, Bavaria and Hungary
What did Stalin believe politically from 1925?
Socialism in one country by creating worker’s paradise showing a compromise approach to the economic situation. This appealed to those who feared the left’s policy in order for stability
What was Stalin’s role in Lenin’s funeral?
- He was placed in charge of funeral arrangements to promote the cult of Leninism through his body being embalmed and placed on public display
- Some compared it to a religion with Stalin as high priest
What was Trotsky’s role in Lenin’s funeral?
- Trotsky was absent from the funeral as he was ill with influenza in Sukhum on the black sea
- It was initially seen as victim of circumstance however Stalin used it to his political advantage as it was widely suspected Stalin arranged his absence revealing his true political ambitions
What happened at the 13th party congress in May 1924?
- Trotsky had the perfect opportunity to weaken Stalin as his bureaucratic control increased but Trotsky hesitated as he thought there would be a better opportunity later and he didn’t want to split the party
- Stalin was protected by Kamenev and Zinoviev implying the strength of the triumvirate
Why was Trotsky not made for bureaucratic infighting?
He lacked the patience to mobilise followers or win over potential allies
Who were Stalin’s loyal followers?
- Molotov
- Kaganovich
- Kirov
- Voloshilov
What did Service believe Stalin commanded from his followers?
“Stalin demanded efficiency as well as loyalty from gang members. He created an ambience of conspiracy, companionship and cruse masculine humour. In return for their services, he looked after their interests,”
What happened after the congress?
- Tensions rose in the triumvirate due to failures to control Stalin during the intensification of political debates
- The NEP was debated as the party disagreed with Bukharin’s support for peasants, “enriching themselves,”
- Stalin remained in the golden middle throughout these debates
What happened in the central committee congress in January 1925?
- Trotsky was forced out of his position as commissar for war
- Zinoviev wanted Trotsky expelled from the party but Stalin rejected this to preserve his image as a moderate
- This left Trotsky isolated but not defeated
- Without opposition for Trotsky, the triumvirate fell apart as Kamenev and Zinoviev opposed Stalin in the central committee in September 1925 and launched a direct attack by the 14th party congress in December
- They found it hard to defeat Stalin as the previously supported the dangers of factionalism but by 1925, they were labelled as one during the instability of the USSR pushing them to ally with Trotsky by mid 1926, increasing Stalin’s fears for Trotsky
What happened with the right from 1926?
Stalin and Bukharin formed the Duumvirate and virtually ran the country until 1927
What was the literary discussion?
In he first half of 1926, Trotsky and Stalin had theoretical and political war through books as and pamphlets such as questions on Leninism
- Trotsky expected to win as he underrated Stain however his ideology was well-throughout and appealed to many party members
- Even if Trotsky won, his position in bureaucratic politics was limited
How was Stalin’s position weakened by the end of 1926?
- In December 1926, after criticisms from the left, he resigned as general secretary
- In the Spring and Summer of 1927, Stalin was blamed for crushing of Chinese Communists in Canton and Shanghai
How did left become defeated by 1927?
- Stalin and Bukharin managed to stay motivated and keep their goals in sight by gaining a majority in the party committee leading to the united opposition being expelled from the central committee in October 1927
- In November, Trotsky and Zinoviev were expelled from the party
- At the 15th party congress, the expulsions were confirmed along with dozens of other oppositionists
How did tensions emerge with Bukharin by 1928 as Stalin wanted to address his long-term aims?
- At the beginning of 1928, Russia was facing serious food shortages, revealing the limitations of the NEP as Bukharin was continuing soft on the peasant issue
- Stalin pushed tough policy to defeat the kulaks for the grain crisis as he personally supervised stern measures in Western Siberia in January/February 1928
- This was not discussed with Bukharin as the expert in agriculture however their divide grew as Stalin called for rapid industrialisation and aggressive support for the comintern in the first five year plan removing his golden middle image
What happened in April 1928?
- Bukharin protested against excess by officials and he expected other party leaders to support him but they didn’t
- He and Stalin clashed within the Politburo speeches as he called for sensible policies and as a result was resulted and vulnerable to Stalin’s attacks
- This led to increasing severity through 1928 and 29 policies
What happened in February 1929?
- Bukharin was no longer a partner as he was grouped with the rightists enemies
- He considered making an alliance with Trotsky but it never went ahead but Stalin was still aware of the contact between them
How did Bukharin loose his power by 1929?
- In April, Bukharin lost his editorship of the pravda
- In November, he was expelled from the politburo
- In December, Stalin made a speech about the future harsh trajectory of his policies establishing his new reputation as Stalin the despot
What was the general outcome for other contenders?
- Of those who contended to power, no one else lived beyond 1940 after Stalin’s gradual violence to establish a dictatorship
- Most attempted to reconcile by admitting their past mistakes and gaining low-ranking jobs such as Zinoviev and Kamenev gave into Stalin in 1928
- Rykov was sacked as chairman of the comintern in 1930 and was replaced by Molotov
- Bukharin hated Stalin and wanted revolution
- Stalin forgave or forgot his former rival by later becoming paranoid about any real or imaginary threats to his position resulting in show-trials in the 1930s of their past crimes against the USSR through the falsification of documents and photographs
What mostly happened to Zinoviev and Kamenev?
- Submitted in 1928
- Expelled in 1932
- Executed in 1936
What mostly happened to Tomsky?
- Forced out as leader of trade unions in 1929
- Removed from the central committee in 1934
- Killed himself in 1936 to avoid trial and execution
What mostly happened to Rykov?
- Expelled from the Politburo in 1930
- Removed from the central committee in 1934
- Executed in 1938
What mostly happened to Bukharin?
- Expelled from the politburo in 1929
- Rehabilitated in 1934
- Executed in 1938
What mostly happened to Trotsky?
- Expelled from the party in 1927
- Exiled in 1929
- Murdered by one of Stalin’s agents in 1940
